Post-Mortem Sally
by Spectral-Aspen
Summary: Blueward Bound Sequel: In the wake of Danny's death, life goes on. In-Progress
1. Lamenting

_[906]_

Sad stuff...

_Lament: _to mourn deeply (dictionary .com)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. **

**I do, however, own Danny. No stealy.**

Story is still _incomplete_, so please don't expect steady updates. I just didn't want anyone to think I'd forgotten about dearest Danny.

**Warning: **mentions of character death!

* * *

One day since she was pronounced dead, despite the lack of proof.

Days of listening to the other Autobots talk in hushed voices and over private comms about how worried they are about me.

I don't care.

To be honest, I don't deserve to be online. No after yet another failure.

Danny does, and she isn't. I don't, and yet, I am.

Where is the justice in that?

____.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.___.__._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

"You sure this is the place?"

"The information leads here."

"... You want me to tell them?"

"No. This is my responsibility."

Deep intakes. My holoform steps out of my alt-mode, still Danny's mustang, and carefully looks around at the small house.

Deep intakes.

Ignoring the Autobot practically oozing sympathy beside me I walk up to the front door, necessary papers in hand, and ring the doorbell once.

In the wake of the bell, there is quiet. Then I hear muffled voices, and soon footsteps are echoing steadily closer to the door.

I can feel my anxiety mounting.

This was a bad idea. Why am I doing this?

They deserve to know. Danny was their daughter, after all.

The door opens quietly to reveal a not-quite elderly female and male standing side-by-side just inside the door. Their similarities in appearance to Danny make my breath catch as guilt almost overwhelms me. The lady gives me an uncertain smile, "Hello, there. To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

I can't bring myself to smile back.

"Ma'am, I have bad news."

What little warmth was coming from the couple disappears at my sombre tone.

"Come in, would you like anything? We don't drink coffee, or bake very well, so there's just tea if you'd like."

I can see where Danny got her manners.

"No thank you, ma'am."

Danny's mother manages a nervous smile before leading the way to a room with a large couch and chair facing a TV. Danny's father trails behind us, and I can tell he suspects something strange about the whole set up.

"Would you like a seat?" Danny's mother gestures to the chair, but I shake my head. This is hard enough, no need to trap myself any more than I already am.

I wait for them to sit down before handing Danny's mother the folder I was carrying. In it is the information that the public can know regarding Danny's disappearance, and presumed death.

Presumed. I can't bear to think of what it would mean if she were still alive.

"Inside this folder is everything you need to know."

I can't bring myself to say it. Danny's father seems to sense my hesitation, because he catches my gaze and holds me there, demanding to know the answers from a being they can only assume is human, and not from some dried and deceased organic slips.

"Where is our daughter?" He asks quietly, somehow already guessing at what I've come to tell them.

I manage to rip my eyes away from his, "Da-Samantha is presumed dead." I don't deserve to use her taken name, not after everything that happened to her -and may still be happening to her- because of me.

Danny's mother gasps, an absolutely gut wrenching sound that just drives my guilt in deeper.

Deep breaths.

"She may have told you she was taking a short trip, or vacation about a week ago?" I say, already knowing the answer. I heard her make the calls.

Both parents slowly nod, staring at me with agonized looks. "She had found one of our men after he had an accident, and was helping him return to our base when they were attacked. The man survived, and Danny was taken. We can only assume she is dead." I can't bear to meet their horrified gazes. "I'm- I'm sorry for your loss."

The woman lets out a choked laugh, "That's our Danny." She says, sounding proud but regretful, "Always helping others, even when she didn't know them."

Danny's father is still looking at me. I can feel the weight of his gaze. "The soldier she was helping; that was you, wasn't it." I look at the man in shock. How could he possibly guess that?

Is my failure so obvious?

"I-" I clench my fists, the words I'm so famous for not coming to defend me against these two despairing parents.

"I tried to save her." I manage to say quietly, shuddering as I remember feeling Ravage rip my knees to shreds before I can fire on Buzzsaw as he carries Danny away. "I really did. I just-"

My voice cuts off again, and the man nods. Danny's mother slowly stands up and walks over to me, and I'm prepared for any anger she may direct towards me.

Then she stops, just in front of me, and holds her arms out. "Young man, you like you could use a hug." She says quietly before slowly embracing me, making sure I have time to pull back if I want to.

I don't.

Eventually my arms come around Danny's mother, and I feel silent tears stream down my face as I bury it in this brave woman's shoulder. "I'm sorry," I whisper, "I'm so, so sorry."

* * *

Thoughts?


	2. Renewal

_[1430]_

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. **

**I do, however, own Danny. No stealy.**

_Renewal: _the act of _renewing: _to begin again

I've decided to try and keep chapter titles one word. Don't ask why... though if you have suggestions they'd be much appreciated, be they for current or future chapters.

Story is still _incomplete_, so please don't expect steady updates. I just didn't want anyone to think I'd forgotten about dearest Danny.

* * *

**?Danny?**

I am dead.

I have to be dead. The horrible mech with one scarlet optic practically took me apart.

...

I'm not dead.

I can somehow sense two mechs around me. The Cyclops, and the quiet mech that stood silently in the corner and watched the whole thing.

I can sense something below me, too. It feels softer than anything else in the room, and it's oozing.

It... it feels like my body.

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

**Soundwave**

"I've managed to capture the human's spark. It was difficult, and while I will admit that several of my previous efforts to capture an organic's spark have failed spectacularly, this one seems to be stable and intact."

Shockwave did always like the sound of his own voice, especially while lecturing others.

I record everything to review later, but only start actually paying attention again when Shockwave mentions transferring the human's spark to a Cybertronian frame.

"Inquiry. Human spark is fully compatible with Cybertronian frame?"

Shockwave briefly shutters his optic, the closest he ever gets to showing irritation around me.

"This is the first time anything like this has been done, Soundwave. There are never any guarantees when dealing with sparks."

Wickedly sharp claws delicately grasp the container trapping the human's sedately pulsing spark, and Shockwave carefully strides to the back of his orderly lab to where a small grey frame lies strapped to a berth.

Shockwave cautiously transfers the container to one servo, and uses the other to open the frame's thin chestplates. An empty spark casing is revealed amidst the slight frame's inner workings, the lack of colour managing to unnerve me before I can keep the emotion down. An inquiry flows down from Rumble, but I merely tell him that he will soon be informed of the situation, almost smiling at the exasperation that follows my response.

The quiet click of the container in Shockwave's servos as it opens pulls me back to the current situation. As the container splits down the middle the human's spark starts fluttering, appearing wary of the current situation. Shockwave fully opens the container, and for a moment the spark just hovers above the empty frame, almost as if it's surveying us.

Then it drops into the frame, settling carefully in the open spark casing. A small glow suffuses the slender frame as its colours start coming in. The frame is mostly dark blue with golden highlights. The optics flicker on, a mere shade darker than the standard Decepticon red. An amber visor slides down to cover the russet optics with a quiet _click_.

The frame itself is quite slender with very thin armour typical of those not working on the front lines.

"Inquiry. Mech or femme?"

Shockwave connects several cables to various ports and starts running basic scans.

"Femme, though considering the human's gender orientation that is not exactly a surprise." Shockwave takes a moment to look over the data streaming across his monitors, glancing briefly at the femme laying immobile on the table. "All systems appear functional. I will install necessary programing now."

I step forward, "What programming?"

Shockwave frowns at me. "Standard Cybertronian programming, of course. Linguistic files. Historical knowledge. Basic medical knowledge. System functions. I will also be installing new memories and blocking her old ones. We wouldn't want the femme to betray us, after all." Shockwave gestures proudly to the femme, "This is a frame type I've been experimenting with. It has subspacing capabilities far greater than any we have, meaning that it can possess an alt-mode far smaller than its bi-pedal mode. Of course, having an alt-mode larger than what the frame is capable of is still out of the question, but with the technology I managed to integrate this frame could potentially have an alt-mode as small as a human. I programmed a base alt-mode for conveniences sake, but it can be changed just as ours can. The secondary alt-mode is the one with access to the subspacing technology, and will have to be scanned by the femme herself. I expect those first few transformations will be slow, and possibly quite painful."

I merely look at Shockwave, silent disapproval obvious.

He snorts. "The speeder is so that you do not have to wait joors for her to move around the Nemesis, and the subspacing technology was necessary to increase her usefulness. As it is now, if she manages to work a human alt-mode, with her residual human knowledge she will be able to flawlessly mingle with the human population, enabling her to gather far more information than your other symbiotes. It is possible she could even infiltrate the Autobot Base on Earth with little difficulty."

I nod respectfully, and Shockwave relaxes from the defensive position he appears to have subconsciously taken against me.

Interesting.

"I will start her up now, so that you can take her to your quarters."

Again, I nod, and Shockwave turns to his machines, quickly installing the necessary programming and ensuring it properly integrates with the femme's systems.

._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._._.

**?Femme?**

I can feel.

I do not know how, or why, but I can.

I can hear something. Is it another being like me? I do not know how to tell.

Suddenly my processor, for I now know that is what it is called, is assaulted with information.

Languages. Mechanics. Social structures. Faction data. History. Battle tactics. Medical knowledge.

I can now tell the sounds apart. There is the almost silent _humming_ of another mech's systems. I can hear the sharp _beeps_ of monitoring equipment, and the slight _hissing _of gears and struts as the two mechs move. The constant rumbling is now another mech's voice as he talks to an imposing mech.

"Stand up." Says the mech with one optic, and I obey. I have no reason not to.

Now I remember. I can recognize emotions, and feel my personality settling.

"She will do what you say unless the chances of offlining exceed 80%. She can drink the standard rations, and anything more than a cube of high grade will overcharge her systems. You should come up with a designation for her."

The meanings of some words I don't yet know flash across my visor.

_Offlining- the termination of a Cybertronian. _

You're damn right I won't do anything if the chances of me offlining are over 80%. You'll be hard pressed to get me to do anything if they're over 50%!

_High grade- concentrated energon._

I doubt that I need too much energy to function anyways, considering how small I am compared to the two mechs.

_Designation- name._

Why don't I already have a name? Will I be able to choose my designation? I wonder what the mechs' designations are. Should I ask?

The imposing mech nods at the other, and gestures for me to follow him. Curious, I do, thoughts of designations being replaced by the opportunity to leave this small room and explore.

I look back to see the mech with one optic staring intently at me as we leave, and for some reason that scares me. I'm glad when the doors hiss shut behind us and block the creepy mech from view.

The mech I'm following says nothing as we walk along various halls. We pass several other mechs, and they all stare at me with a myriad of emotions.

Curiosity, intrigue, jealousy, glee, anger, and horror are just some of the emotions I identify.

The one that surprises me the most is horror. Why would my presence produce such a reaction? As far as I know I just came online. I have yet to do anything to elicit such a reaction.

I push the thought to the back of my processor and try to remember this route. The sooner I learn my way around this place the better off I'll be.

We walk down barren corridors and past hundreds of rooms, eventually coming to a halt in front of a door that looks identical to the ones beside it but for the plaque beside it that proudly displays the words

**Soundwave**

**Chief Communications Officer**

**Head of Intelligence**

**Third in Command**

across it in bold print. From what little I've observed of Soundwave, I get the feeling that the plaque was not made by his command.

He enters a code into the keypad below the plaque and the door silently slides open. Soundwave steps through the doorframe, and I follow uncertainly behind him.

* * *

Thoughts?


	3. Elucidation

_[511]_

Elucidation: to make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain (courtesy of Dictionary .com)

^Because light is being shed on Danny's past and personality.

I will try to alternate perspectives each chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. **

**I do, however, own Danny and her parents. No stealy.**

**Warning**: Mentions of character death.

* * *

**Bluestreak**

I went back to visit Danny's parents, they invited me, actually, and we talked about her.

Sideswipe came with me to their house, and Danny's mother literally dragged his holoform inside. It's rare to see him so subdued, but he was polite and somber while keeping his cheerful aura. Danny's mother adored him.

We got to learn more about Danny. Her likes and dislikes.

She liked the colour blue, and was a fan of sports cars, though, for some reason didn't like Ferraris. We got to listen to a long, detailed story about how Danny got her mustang, my alt-mode, by arguing about car parts and specifications. The original owner was apparently some rich guys, and he insulted her, saying that as a female there was no way she knew more about cars than he did.

She bet that she could tell him more about the car than he knew, and, evidently, won the car.

Now I regret destroying it even more.

Danny would always put others first, even if she needed assistance more. Once, her twin sister, the original Danny, sprained her ankle falling out of a tree. When my Danny jumped out of the tree to help she fractured her fibula, but insisted she be the one to go get their and refused to be treated before her sister once they reached the hospital.

She learned to speak German on her own by taking online courses and by going to Germany with her school's exchange program. She loved German because it's so different from English.

She learned French through what are apparently "mandatory French classes" in public school, and hated it because it was mandatory.

Apparently she couldn't grow a plant to save her life. Danny's mother looked so fond as she described Danny's frustrations when she failed to grow even a dandelion.

Danny's father was eventually prompted to tell me about how he taught her to shoot. He would take her out during hunting season and have her practice for hours. Once she could hit a target standing she had to hit one walking, then running, jumping, rolling, and even from a tree. He said he tried to convince her to enter competitions, but that she didn't like being the center of attention and refused.

He gruffly told us about how she could shoot a squirrel from around a tree without it even realizing she was there (apparently this isa great feat).

By the end of the visit I felt like I understood Danny so much better, and deeply regret not being able to get to know her personally.

I asked Sideswipe what he thought of her, and, after receiving a confused look from him, was surprised to hear him say that he toowished he could have gotten to know her.

Danny's parents invited us back in a few days. Hopefully we'll be able to help each other through her death by sharing memories of her, no matter how painful they may be.

* * *

Thoughts?

Danny's parents actually have names... Danny's mom- Marie Beth Stayn & Danny's dad- Markus Otto Brandt (they're the M&Ms :D )


	4. Reconnoiter

_[1389]_

Reconnoiter: to examine or survey (a region, area etc.) for research, geological, or other purposes

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Transformers. I do, however, own the main character here. **No stealy. **

Warnings: None... except maybe an extreme lack of action.

"Spoken Cybertronian"

* * *

The room I walk into surprises me. It's so big! There is a large couch in front of a video screen that has been mounted on the wall, but that's about it. There are three doors leading off of this room, all are closed.

Soundwave moves to the middle of the room and turn to face me. His russet visor glints in the room's dim lighting, and I do my best not to fidget.

"Designation. Audial. Function. Observer. Training. Begins now."

Audial? Okay.

Observer? My frame type seems to suggest I'll be good at that.

Training? Didn't the creepy mech download information into my processor? Why would I need training?

"Training. Necessary. Downloads. Inadequate."

Did he read my processor? That's… interesting.

"Task. Learn base layout of the Nemesis. Time frame: 12 joors. Rule. Cannot be seen."

Soundwave hands me a small cube of energon. "Mission. Begins after refueling."

I instinctively hold the cube up to my mouth plates, and tilt it so the energon slides down my throat tubing and into my fuel tanks. I watch my energy levels reach 100% before I finish the cube, and I lower it to ask Soundwave a question. The first time I'll have ever spoken. "Is it possible to subspace energon, Soundwave?"

He looks surprised, but quickly covers it. "Affirmative."

I flick the wrist holding the cube and subspace it, marvelling in the way it simply seems to disappear.

"Mission. Begins now."

I look up at Soundwave in confusion, "How-?"

"Mission. Figure it out."

I can only stare after him as he walks to one of the doors, and I see what appears to be an office before he walks in and the door closes, leaving me alone in the room with only a couch and video screen.

I look around in despair. How am I supposed to learn the layout of the Nemesis? I don't even know what the Nemesis is! Somehow I know how long 12 joors is, and I know that it's a considerable amount of time, but the monumentous nature of my task makes that little fact seem woefully inadequate.

I look up, for some reason the action seem appropriate, and my optics alight on a grate in the ceiling.

The ventilation system.

I relax, knowing I can now get around without being seen.

Then I look around and realize I have no way of getting to the vents. I'm too short. Not even standing on the couch would raise me up enough to be able to reach the vents.

I wistfully imagine myself floating up to the vent, and squawk in surprise as I actually rise up, only to fall on my aft with a painful _clang_. I glance towards the room Soundwave entered, to see if he witnessed my embarrassing fall, but the door remains closed.

I carefully stand up and examine my pedes. There appear to be thrusters forming my heels, and I walk over to the wall, hoping its support will be enough to keep me from falling over again.

I carefully imagine floating again, and this time am prepared for when I actually start rising. Now that I know what's happening, I notice a small program start running when my thrusters start up, and split my focus between the program and on staying upright.

I slowly rise until I can touch the ceiling and manage to hover.

Now I have to move forward.

Away from the wall.

Frag.

I slowly tilt my pedes and can't help the big grin that graces my faceplates as I start moving forwards.

I'm flying.

Granted, I'm flying with absolutely no grace at all, and using the ceiling to help keep my balance, but I am flying nonetheless!

I eventually reach the grate, and am beyond relieved to find I can simply lift it up and move it to the side. Maybe I'm not the only one to think to travel through the vents? I once again rise until I can haul myself into the vent and carefully replace the grate.

Now what?

I look around nervously, the vents are fairly small, so I should be safe from everyone while I'm in here. The metal is thicker than it looks, and doesn't bend when I walk on it, making my movements silent but for the sounds of my hydraulics quietly whirring and my cables softly brushing against each other.

I pick a direction and start walking, crouching so that I don't hit the ceiling, and making sure to note where I go and how far everything is. I make note of rooms and what appears to be in them, as well as where everyone's quarters are (if they're in the room, I assume it's their room, if it's empty, I put a note to investigate further, but at a later date).

To get from level to level I have to find a vertical ventilation shaft and utilize my thrusters. Once I get confident enough to hover without having to support myself on the walls, I start jumping and igniting my thrusters in the air, for practice, and so I don't leave scorch marks everywhere I go. I was originally worried about the heat melting the metal or warping it, but for some reason that doesn't seem to be a problem. Maybe the vents are made of a metal with a really high melting point?

I eventually get a skeletal frame mapped out of all the places where there always seem to be bots, and start exploring the less travelled sections of the Nemesis, which at this point I'm going to assume is the massive warship we all appear to be on.

My map of the Nemesis' structure is not nearly as detailed as I'm assuming the schematics are, but it shows the areas I can get too and have found thus far.

The upper levels are storage rooms and grunt quarters, a large mess hall, and communal wash racks.

In the middle levels there is (in no particular order) the command deck at the bow, med bay, science labs, officer's quarters and mess hall, munitions rooms, armoury, as well as various other specialized rooms I don't know the names for.

The lower levels contain the engine room, energon storage rooms, training decks, as well as the shuttle hangars, mining equipment storage areas, and other rooms full of gears and cables and other strange looking things that make the Nemesis run.

I glance at my chronometer and am surprised to find that 11 joors have passed during my exploration, and I make my way back up to Soundwave's quarters, going a fairly long route and marking anything I may have missed during my initial sweep along the way. I eventually pause to finish the energon cube in my subspace, my energy levels coming up to 95% from the 85% they were previously at. My frame appears to be very fuel efficient.

I explore the vents above Soundwave's quarters a bit, because I'd avoided them while I was mapping out the rest of the Nemesis. In addition to the main room and office there are two berth rooms, the larger one having a set of wash racks attached to it. I carefully remove the grate and slide through into the room, hovering just bellow the grate so I can replace it, before slowly sinking to the floor.

As I land Soundwave exits his office, looking unsurprised to see me back a few breems early.

He walks around behind me, and I freeze as he opens a small cover at the base of my helm and inserts a small cable. He goes through my memories, reviewing everything I've done in the last few joors, before removing the cable and walking back towards his office. "Objective. Get recharge," is all he says before the office doors close behind him.

I stare after him. That's it? No "good job Audial?" Not that I expected that, but some kind of acknowledgement for what I've managed to accomplish would be nice!

I stare at the door for another moment before jumping back up and climbing into the ventilation system once more.

* * *

Thoughts? The chapters on the Nemesis will show Audial's life among the Decepticons.


	5. Animus

_[654]_

Animus: strong dislike or enmity; hostile attitude; animosity (via dictionary .com)

**Warning**: Mentions of character death, and angry friends

_Disclaimer: _Do not own Sideswipe, Bluestreak, or anything recognizable. Danny, her family, and Victor are mine. No stealy.

* * *

**Bluestreak**

Sideswipe is with me again.

I don't know if I'm grateful for that or not.

There's another car in front of Danny's parent's house.

Maybe it's one of her friends?

I hope not.

Sideswipe doesn't mention the other car.

It doesn't seem like something he'd really care about.

Danny's mother opens the door for us, her expression carefully neutral. I tense up. Why does she seem nervous? Sideswipe either doesn't notice, or has better control over his holoform than me.

"Hello you two, it's nice to see you again." Does her voice sound strained? It seems a little off. "One of Danny's friends stopped by." That explains the car.

Danny's mother wrings her wrinkled hands, "He said he was looking for you." That explains the nervousness.

"Hey Marie, you need a hand?" A young man around Danny's age comes striding up behind Danny's mother. He doesn't noticeably react until he looks past us and sees my alt-mode.

Then he looks very angry.

"So," his voice is ice, "you're the guy."

Well that's entirely unhelpful.

"The guy?" I ask politely, hoping I don't sound too nervous. I'm an Autobot for Primus' sake, this human should not intimidate me.

"The guy that killed Danny."

He definitely intimidates me.

Marie turns around, "Victor, this young man was not responsible for our Danny's death." The two humans have a stare down, and I see Sideswipe shift nervously beside me. What now?

"If she hadn't been helping him, she wouldn't have died." Victor growls, keeping vicious eye contact with Marie.

Horrible feelings of guilt well up again, feelings I'd just managed to work past. Sideswipe glances at me, and steps between Marie and Victor.

"You, _Victor,_ back off." He pokes Victor in the chest, voice sounding painfully cheery, but his expression promises death.

Victor's eyes widen, and he deflates a bit before snorting and stomping back into the house.

Marie sighs and looks at the ground, "I'm sorry about that. I knew he was resentful, but if I'd know he'd confront you and accuse you of-"

Sideswipe turns around and rests a hand on Marie's shoulder, "Don't worry about it ma'am," he gives a resigned laugh, "we're used to resentment. It's practically in the job description."

Marie looks surprised, then horribly sad. I force a smile, hoping it's even semi-convincing, "Really, Ms. Stayn, the things he said are not the worst I've ever heard." It hurts that it's true.

She looks at me and starts visibly, "I just realized," she says looking between me and Sideswipe, "I don't know your names."

We exchange a glance.

Slag.

We don't have human names.

Why don't we have human names?

Luckily Sideswipe is good at improvising, "Well ma'am," he steps back and holds out a hand, "my name is Seamus Trin Wike, and this" he gestures to me, "is Blake Art Stryker." He looks down at Marie with a grin, "Weird names, I know, but," he heaves a sigh, "they're the ones we're stuck with."

Marie gives him a grateful smile and shakes the proffered hand, "Well, Mr. Wike," she turns to me and shakes my hand, "Mr. Stryker, it's a pleasure to meet you." She waves a hand through the front door, "Would you like to come in? I'm afraid the company is bad, and the cooking worse, but at least we can all be miserable together."

Sideswipe holds out an arm, "My lady," Marie giggles and links her arm in his, and they walk into the house together. I follow quietly behind them, gratefully for Sideswipe's light-sparked humour. For the time being, it's chased away my sadness and guilt.

* * *

Thoughts?


	6. Somnus

_[333]_

Short filler.

Somnus: Roman God of Sleep, son of Night and brother of Death, Greek counterpart-Hypnos (dictionary .com)

Disclaimer: Don't own Transformers or related material. No stealy Audial, she is _mine._

* * *

**Audial**

I can't believe him. "Get recharge."

Who does he think he is?

A brief image of his name plaque comes to the front of my processor.

Not only is he third in command of the whole fragging Decepticon Faction, but he's the Chief Communications Officer, _and _the Head of Intelligence.

I guess he _can_ order me around...

Still, I have no idea where I can do this "recharging," or even what it really _is._

As soon as I think that a little definition request pops up in my vision. I accept it, and the definition expands across my visor.

Recharge: to charge again with electricity; to refresh or restore

Well then.

Not that that isn't helpful, but how am I supposed to actually _do _it?

I pause, hoping the silent thought would trigger more mysteriously helpful programming, but nothing happens.

A quiet sigh escapes me. I recall my layout of the Nemesis, and a small place above the engine room comes to the forefront of my processor. It was warm with the heat from the engine, in a secluded area, and unreachable for anyone larger than me.

Maybe I can recharge there.

New objective in mind, I set off, carefully navigating Nemesis' somewhat comforting intricate ventilation system. As I approach the engine room I can feel my systems lagging a bit. Hopefully recharging will fix that.

I manage to find the spot again. It's directly above one of Nemesis' main engines, and the heat radiating off of it is glorious, and chases away the slight chill I've developed. I guess my thin armour isn't all that good in terms of heat retention.

The engines are fairly quiet, and the almost gently humming is soothing. As I curl up in the vents, my systems steadily humming slower and slower, a small prompt comes up.

**Initiate Recharge?**

**Y/N**

I select **Y**, and my systems all shut down. The last thing I feel is a strange sense of pride.

* * *

Thoughts?


	7. Accord

_[454]_

Accord: to be in agreement or harmony

Not necessarily harmony here... more of an understanding.

I say it's been days since Danny "died," which means Markus and Marie live pretty close to the Autobot base.

"spoken over a comm"

* * *

We're driving back to base when something occurs to me. "Sideswipe."

"Yeah Blue?"

"Did you know that Victor guy?"

"...never met him before."

Like that's not suspicious. "Does that mean you'd heard of him before?"

"Listen, Blue, drop it."

He sounds angry. "But... Sides..."

"Listen, I'm here to help you get through your grief and because I like Markus and Marie."

Like I'm going to believe that. "Okay."

"Seriously, Blue, that's all there is."

Nice try. "Right."

"You're making me feel guilty."

Good. "I thought you didn't have anything to be guilty about?"

"Damnit Blue, just drop it."

Stubborn aft-head. "Sides, you've been beyond helpful these past few days, can't I be allowed to return the favour?"

He doesn't answer for a while, and I'm starting to think he's just going to ignore me, when I hear him sigh. "When I landed here, in around the same area as you, ironically enough, there was a human that helped me get back to base. She was grumpy, and sullen, and quiet, and a total pain to deal with... but... she reminded me of Sunny."

I wasn't expecting this.

"We didn't have any problems getting to base, unless you count getting lost a few times, so there was plenty of time to talk. She... she had some issues, and one of them was a rocky relationship with her younger brother, Victor. I wanted to lay into that little shit so badly, but not only would it have given me away, but it would go against her wishes. She, despite all the horrible things Victor has done and said to her, still loves him. Reminds me of Sunny, that does. Once you earn his loyalty you'll likely find yourself offline before you lose it."

"...Is she still alive?" Please don't let us have killed another amazing human.

"Yeah, she is. Doesn't want anything to do with us, though. She doesn't mind when I call, but she refuses to actively associate with us."

"Can I ask why?" That might be worse than what I have, having a friend still alive but be unable to see them? Because they _don't want _to see you? Harsh.

"She doesn't want anything to do with the military. Or fighting."

"Oh." Wow. Considering Sideswipe is one of our best warriors, that really sucks.

"Yeah."

We drive the rest of the way to the base in thoughtful silence, both of us lost in our own worlds, and I allow myself to wonder what would have happened if Danny and I made it to base unharmed, and what would have become of us.

* * *

This story is killing me... writers block, why are you a thing? Why do you exist?

Anyways... Thoughts?


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